Contest No.3: The Minted & Pottery Barn Kids + Teen Wall Art Challenge!

Wall art contests seem to come in threes as all good things do! The Minted & Pottery Barn Kids + Teen Wall Art Challenge is the third one on Minted since 2016 has started. Not sure if it is a good thing though … we are still waiting on the results of the previous two contest …
In this contest Minted + Pottery Barn are looking for art prints for boys and girls and for the whole age range starting with baby up to teenagers.
I am a bit exhausted contestwise but I just couldn't miss this one! Wall art for kids really is one of my fave subjects. It would be nice to build up a kid's collection on Minted. And to have a print been sold by Pottery Barn would be totally awesome! Well a girl can dream ;-)

So ok, I went ahead and submitted 16 pieces. Like always I will be showing you my faves here and I would be delighted to get your votes! Please just click on the title of the images, that'll lead you directly to my submissions on the Minted website. Thank you so much!

"Roaming Free"

I really love the playfulness and freedom vibe of this painting! It's a beautiful print for horse lovers of all ages. And it fits well to the brief as two of the themes asked for are animal prints and hobby themed prints.

"How to catch a Winter Star"

Two little winter bunnies in sweaters make a soft and tender nursery print for the holiday season – which is another theme asked for in the brief.


And here now are two fun prints for boys:

"Counting Crocodiles"

"Submarines Ahoi"

"The Craftsman" is originally an illustration done for a German fairytale. Works for both genders I think. I love the European and old times vibe of this one.

"The Craftsman"

Finally two romantic prints for girls and young ladies:

"Framed in Petals"

The inspiration for the watercolour print above came from Art Nouveau cameo brooches.

"Wake up in Flowers"

And this mixed media painting was inspired by our rooftop garden, that literally grows into our  bedroom windows in the summer …

I hope you like my submissions!

Want to see more? I have posted all my submissions on the "Voting now" page, so please just hop over there to take a look! Thank you again!

The Minted & West Elm Challenge

And now here's already a new contest: the Minted & West Elm Challenge!
Both Minted and West Elm are looking for all kinds of new art (including photography) to add to their wall art collections. I have submitted mainly photography this time, so I'll focus on this for today.
Minted has announced a special "Around the World" award – a good chance to show off some of my travel photography …
Please vote for my entries if you like them! Thank you! Just click on the title of the image to go directly to my submission on Minted. Here are my favourites in the challenge:

"Devon Beach Tea"

I loved this café in a wooden beachhut, selling fine teas to the bathers at a beach in Devon. It seemed so quintessentially english to me! Quirky, a bit old fashioned and romantic, a little bit melancholic, but friendly and inviting at the same time … Composing the image I left a lot of space for the sky – lots of blue for a real "seaside image".

"The Evening Bath"

This shot was done on the Isle of White, England, on a beautiful evening after some days of heavy rain. I loved the small hub of energy of this group of bathing children against the quietness of the vast turquoise sea. The water was icecold! They really could only dash in and then right out again. The image makes me think of youth, carelessness, high spirits, and the summers of my own childhood.

"Bird on Stonehenge"

I guess this image of Stonehenge is dear to me partly because it didn't come so easy. When visiting Stonehenge, I was very disappointed at first. With a big motorway in the background, the distant but persisting sound of cars and pretty bad weather on top there was next to no atmosphere … But playing with close ups sparked my interest – these stones really are majestic! I then decided I needed a living accent, but it took a while to convince the bird to fly to the right spot … I like the contrast between huge and small, ancient and living/ moving, and the fact that the image is a bit more unusual than other Stonehenge photographs.

"Approaching the Royal Albert Hall"

Speaking of the unusual: my motivation for the picture above was to find a new view on the famous Royal Albert Hall in London. The allegorical statues of Asia in the foreground are part of the Albert Memorial, and I pictured them in a dynamic composition, as if moving towards the hall. I used another set of spells on the pigeons … and they obeyed ;-)

"Connemara reflections"

Well I simply had to squeeze in a shot from Ireland! One of my favourite destinations ever. This picture shows the amazing reflections on Lough Kylemore, Connemara. Mountain becomes water becomes land again. And oh this little his house … what an amazing place to live! (Have I mentioned yet that I am a romantic soul? Just can't help myself!)

"Old Town Bruges"

This view on Bruges/ Flanders is a calm and modest picture, but I think it captures the essence of this historic city quite well. It quietly speaks of old paintings, the times of the Hanse, of rich merchants, old traditions and hardworking craftspeople. To me, it is a strong image of the "Old Europe".

I hope you'll like this little trip in pictures! I as well have listed ALL my entries on the "Voting now!" page, if you'd like to vote for more … or simply to have a peek :-)
Voting is open until Friday, February 12. Thank you so much!

Hurray for the foxes!

Hello, here's a happy surprise! My little "Woodland Foxes" won! Hurray!!!
They came up on the 6th place in the Minted Child's Play Fabric Challenge (within the top 20 winners). Thank you so much everybody who might have voted for them!
Now the foxes soon will be roaming around on throw pillows to draperies to lampshades and everything in between for nurseries and kid's rooms! Really looking forward to see them on there :-)

If you'd like to know more you can view the winner's gallery here and read a bit about the inspiration for my woodland designs here.